Qantas nabs top spot in coveted airline ranking survey
Qantas has been named as the airline that “gives greatest peace of mind when flying” in a global award chosen by travellers.
The flying kangaroo has topped the list of AirlineRatings.com’s 2025 Flyers’ Choice Awards.
It was followed by Singapore Airlines, Qatar, Etihad, Cathay Pacific Emirates and Air New Zealand.
“Qantas has long been regarded as one of the safest airlines in the world, consistently ranking in the top three of our World’s Safest Airlines listings every year,” AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen said.
“The famous line from Rain Man, where Dustin Hoffman’s character says, ‘Qantas, never crashed’, perfectly captures the airline’s well-established safety reputation, which remains just as strong 27 years later.”
Runner-up Singapore Airlines also earned a special mention.
It suffered a horrendous turbulence incident in May 2024, when a Boeing 777-300ER jet en route to Singapore plunged nearly 2000 metres. One man died and seven people were critically injured, after passengers slammed their heads into the plane’s ceiling and overhead compartments.
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Dozens more were injured, with many Australians among them.
“Despite [that incident], public trust in the carrier remains unwavering,” Petersen said.
“This speaks volumes about the brand’s strength, passenger loyalty, and the confidence in safety it continues to inspire.”
She said the Middle East and Hong Kong brands were also consistent nominees in AirlineRatings’ world’s safest airlines awards. All had impeccable safety and incident records, along with top-class training and safety practices.
“Given the significantly smaller size and reach of Air New Zealand, the fact that it drew the 7th highest number of votes competing against major global carriers really says it all,” Petersen said.
Air New Zealand has been named AirlineRatings’ world’s safest airline multiple times.
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The awards were voted on by travellers earlier this year.
“Based solely on traveller feedback, they provide authentic insight into which carriers are truly winning over passengers,” Petersen said.
Frequent fliers also voted in other categories, including for their favourite regional airline – another top spot for Qantas in Australia and the Pacific Ocean, where it beat Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia.
The national carrier was also tops with travellers for its aircraft livery – the exterior look of its planes. Etihad was in second spot, with Air NZ third.
“I had expected Pacific Island carriers like Air Tahiti Nui or Fiji Airways to rank higher, but they ultimately couldn’t surpass the richness of Etihad’s gold-hued livery, the iconic flying kangaroo of Qantas, or the striking beauty of Air New Zealand’s koru symbol paired with its distinctive black-and-white fern design,” Petersen said.
Singapore Airlines was given the nod for best cabin crew service (with Qatar at second, followed by Emirates and Cathay Pacific at equal third) and best cabin crew uniforms (with Emirates again the runner-up, and then Air NZ and Virgin Australia sharing third).
“What I loved about these cabin crew results is just how close the competition was – we even had to declare a tie for third place, as the margin wasn’t statistically significant,” Petersen said.
“As the face of the airline, the service [cabin crew] provide is not only essential – it’s often undervalued.”
Earlier this year, Qantas was named at eighth in AirlineRating’s top full-service airlines of 2025 rankings. Korean Air took out the title, with Qatar and Air NZ rounding out the top three.
